2021 · Q18
In which of the following groups of organisms, is food material broken down outside the body and absorbed?
General KnowledgeBiology
- AYeast, mushroom, bread mould
- BMushroom, Amoeba, green plants
- CCuscuta, tapeworm, lice
- DParamecium, Amoeba, Cuscuta
Explanation
Yeast, mushroom and bread mould are saprophytes: they secrete digestive enzymes onto dead and decaying organic matter and then absorb the digested nutrients, so breakdown happens outside the body. Amoeba and Paramecium ingest food particles (holozoic nutrition), green plants photosynthesise their own food, and Cuscuta, tapeworm and lice are parasites feeding on living hosts. Only the first group shows external digestion followed by absorption.